Mobile mechanized track layer



0 United States Patent [111 3,54 ,75

[72] lnventors Lloyd Oscar l-lostland [56] References Cited Eflm ntomAIberta, Canada (626 Cordova UNITED STATES PATENTS St., Winnipeg 9, Manitoba, Canada); 3,286,648 1 l I l 966 Brosnan 104/2 Nelson Joseph Cloutler, deeased, late of 3 288 082 "/1966 Brosnan 104,2 Transcona, Manitoba; by uaranty Trust s Company Winnipeg, M an oba and 3,330,219 7/1967 Plasser et al 104/2 Marjorie Blanche Cloutier, Administrators, P i E i -A th L, Poi t 521 Kildare Ave. West, Transcona, Mani- Assistant Examine, Richa1-d Bemch Canada Attomey-George H. Riches [2]] Appl. No. 764348968 [221 FM ABSTRACT' A mobile mechanical track la ymg apparatus m- Pammed 1970 eluding a mobile frame which is towed by a tractor and a hoist mounted on the frame for lifting rail members onto the frame. The mobile frame also has rail support and guidemeans for [54] g g Q TRACK LAYER supporting and guiding the rail members with storage means 8 Figs for rail ties, tie plates and related components. The mobile [52] US. Cl. 104/2 ame also has a means for spacing the rail ties and moving the [5]] In, (I E0lb 29/02 rail members and rail ties into position along the mobile frame [50] Field of Search 104/2-6, together with means for moving the tie plates and rail ties into position.

PATENTED 05022 19m FIGURE 1 LLOYD o HOSTLAND flTTa and excessive costs.

, 1 MOBILE MECHANIZED TRACK LAYER BACKGROUND or THE INVENTION industry. The basic operation is still dependent on a large labour force. a I

The gang" method utilizes labour to carry out the basic track-laying function. In this method, the gang of labourers often make use'of small machinery and equipment to assist them in placing the rail in position, bolting the rail segments in an end'to-end fashion, placing therail ties, hammeringthe rail spikes into place, and the like. 1

The "Pioneer" method is a modification ofthe gang" method which improves on the material handling aspect of the gang" method of laying track. In the Pioneer method of laying track, a machine operates on the rails and builds the track structure as it proceeds. The track material'to be used must be brought up from behind the track-laying area on the newly built track and is then handed forward to the'machine through a cumbersome and expensive system of belts and conveyors. The rail is set into place bya crane carried by the machine. While various smaller mechanical track machines are used in the final-assembly of the track, this operation is not fully mechanized, and, as a result, fifty or sixtylabourers are usually required to produce the finished track. Perhaps the greatest drawback of this machine is the fact that there can be no break in the finished track since all the equipment which is employed in this operation is track mounted. If an unfinished bridge or section of grade should be encountered, the operation must, of necessity, be terminated until the obstruction is removed and track is laid across it. 1

Another method of laying track involves prepanelling or prefabrication of track. According to this method, a given section of finished track is assembled at a central point and is then transported to the track-laying site'where the placing of this length of track, or panel, is e'fiected by machines. Although this method is particularly suitable for'the replacement of an existing track structure, panel by panel, on tracks where the traffic density is very'high, the cost involved is, un-

fortunately, rather high. Under heavy traflic conditions, time is of the essence, and this fact justifies the higher initial track replacement costs. In the construction of new track, time is a less crucial factor, and it is therefore evident that the prepanelling method of laying track does not readily adapt itself to new construction due to the associated costs and difficulty in handling of materials.

It will be apparent from the foregoing outline that present track-laying procedures have apparently avoided the introduction of a high degree of mechanization. Thus far, track assembly and laying methods have been formed around a costly, large labour force. The present invention is a radical step forward and is a distinct break with the large labour force methods of the present and with their, attendant inefficiencies A further object of this invention is to provide a mobile track laying apparatus capable of operating on roads and highways to permit easy movement thereof to other locations for track-laying purposes.

In order to achieve these and other objects, this invention provides an apparatus for assembling laying railway track, such track comprising rail members, rail ties, tie plates, and ancilliary components; said apparatus comprising: towing means; a mobile main frame adapted for towing connection with said towing means; lilting means vfor lifting rail members and the like onto the apparatus; 'rail support and guide means, mounted on the apparatus, for supporting and guiding rail members; storage means for said rail ties, said tie plate, and

said ancilliary components; spacing means for spacing said rail ties on said apparatus; moving means for moving said rail members and said rail ties along the apparatus; positioning means for locating said tie plates on the respective rail ties; and. connecting means operable to connect the tie plates to said rail ties. j

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be readily adapted for use with groundmounted monorail systems in addition to its obvious applicawhich will overcome the disadvantages of the foregoing track-' laying methods and will combine speed and efficiency to thereby permit economical assembly and laying of track.

it is a further object of this invention to provide an apparatus which can lay, for example, one mile of track per day with a complement of no more than 20 men.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a mobile mechanical track-laying apparatus which will allow track laying to stop short ,of any obstruction and bypass it with little or no delay to the track-layingoperation.

' A further object of this invention is to provide a track-laying apparatus which is not dependent upon on-rail handling of track-laying materials.

tion to railway and urban rapid transit-systems. For monorail systems, the hereinabove mentioned ancillary components would preferably include monorail track assembly components which serve to minimize lateral track deflections.

For a thorough understanding of the present invention and its many advantages, reference is made to the following detailed description of one illustrative embodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a preferred embodiment of the mobile mechanized track-laying apparatus of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of the apparatus of H6. 1.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the'mobile main frame 14 is towed by a towing means, here shown as aheavy-duty truck 1, preferably equipped with dual tandems. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the towing means should be operable to tow the apparatus at working speeds which permit continuous and simultaneous track assembly and track laying. it will further be apparent that the maximum working speed will be limited by the maximum rate of track assembly which is consistent with high standards of workmanship. The truck 1 may have a final drive which is hydraulically controlled to allow it to operate at speeds as low asof the order of 0.1 miles per hour. All power required to operate the various mechanisms mounted on the mobile track-laying apparatus should preferably be supplied from the truck 1- and from auxiliary systems (not shown) which may be mounted on the truck 1.

The lifting means is shown as a jointed hydraulic crane 2 having 360 of rotation and is preferably mounted on the truck chassis. The crane 2 should be capable of lifting 3,000 pounds at a 13 foot radius. This crane is used to hoist rails from the outer edge of the subgrade onto rail support and guide means mounted on the apparatus. The crane 2 may also be optionally equipped with a magnet to handle all lofose track fastenings such as rail spikes and the like. v

The rail support and guide means are shown as guide rollers 3 and serve to support the rail and guide it back to the main frame 14. These guide rollers 3 are preferably installed'at a decreasing elevation from front to back of the apparatus in order to allow the rail to move along on its own momentum once it has been placed upon them. These guide rollers 3 are shown in location in two parallel front-to-back rows on the truck and truck chassis and are preferably supported by the a well-known (1" frame method. The rollers 3 should have double flanges and the width of the roller between these 1 rails instead of the base and the width between flanges on the rollers will then narrow as required.

It is preferable that the storage means comprises individual storage bins mounted sequentially on the apparatus to store rail joint bolting materials, rail ties, tie plates, rail spikes, and ancillary components.

The storage means comprises individual storage bins in this preferred embodiment. The rail joint bolting materials storage bins 6'are located at the sides of the truck chassis and are used for the storage of all materials required for the initial operation of bolting the individual rail segments in end-to-end fashion in two parallel rows. Expansion shims are also placed between the individual rail segments prior to the final tightening of the bolts at this stage.

The tie storage bin 4 is designed to hold 25 Number one creosoted track ties which are placed in the bin by the crane 2 operating from the truck chassis. The tie storage bin 4 may be equipped with a movable plate (not shown) which may be powered by a hydraulic ram to move the ties within reach of a labourer. Tie positioning means in the form of power-driven rollers 9 then serve to insert the ties into position under the parallel lines of rails, properly positioning the ties prior to the subsequent installation of the tie plates. Tie storage bin 12 serves to act as a counterweight to tie storage bin 4 to permit easier balancing of the load of the ties on the main frame 14. Tie storage bin 4 and tie storage .bin 12 should both be removable to permit easier travel to a new track-laying location.

Tie plate storage bins 7 are located one on either side of the main frame 14 and above the track sections. Each tie plate storage bin 7 is constructed of heavy steel plate to withstand considerable abuse and will accommodate about 100 tie plates. Labourers will place the tie plates directly on the ties at this location as the endless chain (to be hereinafter described) carries the track component parts past this tie plate installation area. At this location, the rails are still elevated above the rail ties, thus allowing the plates to be installed with a minimum of effort. The tie plate storage bins 7 are also removable for travelling to a new tracklaying location.

It is preferred that the aforementioned spacing means and moving means comprise a single means, hereinafter referred to as a tie spacing and rail moving means.

The tie spacing and rail moving means is shown as an endless chain 8 which has lugs spaced at 1.79 foot intervals and has suitable axles, bearings and sprockets to support the chains. This endless chain 8 serves to properly space and support the ties and to simultaneously move the semiassembled track towards the rear of the apparatus as the track assembly operation proceeds. One axle and sprocket assembly may be adjustable in order to properly tension the chain. The chain may be supported in its return position by channel iron guides. Furthermore, provision may be made to have an auxiliary drive motor assisting in driving the chain.

The positioning means of the novel apparatus may comprise two plate portions fixed in a spaced-apart parallel arrangement and referenced in'parallel relation to one of the sides of the main frame to permit easy gauging of the track width prior to the spiking operation.

The positioning means may, for simplicity, be made of two pieces of steel plate in a'spaced-apart parallel arrangement and welded to hollow pipes to fix them in this position and then referenced against one side of the main frame 14. These plates are set in such a position that when the tie plates are pushed against them on any tie, the plates will be in a position to receive the rails at standard track gauge. This positioning means may be removable to allow initial loading of the apparatus 2 at the beginning of a new job.

Rail spike storage bins are located towards the rear of the apparatus 2 and are of such capacity as to enable them to hold about 1,000 pounds of rail spikes per bin. The rail spike storage bins are also removable for travelling.

it is preferred that the mobile main frame have wheels located to the rear of the main frame-,and that these wheels be,

jointly steerable independent of the towing means to permit accurate positioning of the rearward end of the main frame and thereby of the assembled track, as the assembled track is lowered from the rearward end of the main frame.

Hydraulic controls 11 are provided for steering the rear wheels 15 independent'of the towing means to permit accurate positioning of the rearward end of the apparatus 2 to allow the track to be placed properly along the centre line of the track bed. In addition, a cutout master switch may also be provided at this position to allow the foreman in charge of the track-laying operation to stop all the moving parts including the truck 1 itself at any time.

The connecting means is preferably a powered spike hammering means and is shown as a fixed position hydraulic ram spiker 13 located at the rear of the apparatus. This spiker works according to the well-known principle of a fast-acting pressure ram squeezing the spikes into the tie. Immediately in front of and behind the hydraulic ram spiker 13, holding means shown as pressure rollers 16 serve to hold the rails and ties firmly against the apparatus 2 and therefore in position for the spike hammering operation.

The main frame 2 should be capable of carrying a load of about 16 tons and should preferably be constructed of steel I beams having a holster for mounting the rear wheel assembly. The main frame 2 should be designed taking into consideration not only the total load to be carried, but also the working and travelling speeds.

The proper distribution of track assembly materials on the finished grade ahead of the mobile mechanized track-laying apparatus is of considerable importance for efficient tracklaying. The rails should be placed end to end along the sides of the finished grade and the rail ties should be banded in bunches of 25 and properly'spaced to allow a continuous operation. Track fastenings'may be stockpiled at predetermined points and the mobile mechanized track-laying apparatus will stop at these points and load it with sufficient track fastenings to gain the maximum amount of track footage and still remain within the maximum loading of the machine. Alternatively, the track fastenings may be stockpiled at points separated by a distance of perhaps one mile and the mobile mechanized track-laying apparatus may be loaded by a truck operating back and forth along the grade ahead of the actual track-laying operation. Initial distribution of all track assembly materials along the grade may be carried out by rubber-wheeled equipment such as trucks, tractors, and tendem trailers. Such distribution of track-assembly materials prior to track laying eliminates the expense and inefficiency encou..tered in the prior methods (e.g. the Pioneer" method) which require that track assembly materials be transported from behind along the newly laid track to the track-laying site.

The fact that the operation of this apparatus is not confined to being handled on track which must be built to accommodate it allows for mobility and flexibility in its operation. Advantageous use can be made of roads and highways to reach the grade where the track is to be constructed and the track-laying operation can be easily transferred to another site as circumstances may warrant.

While one embodiment of this invention has been shown and specifically described, it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications thereof can he made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

1 claim:

1. A mobile apparatus for assembling and laying railway tracks on a railway roadbed as a complete track unit consisting of a pair of spaced apart rail members, rail ties, tie plates iii. a rail-spike assembly station in proximity to a spike driving station adjacent the back end of the back section of the carriage;

b. rail guide and support means mounted on the rail as sembly station to support the rails in an elevated position relative to the tie and tie plate assembly stations and in spaced apart relationship for a predetermined track gauge, said guide means being progressively reduced in height from the front section of the carriage to the back end of the back thereof to provide a gradient and support the rails above the carriage until after the rails have passed the tie plate assembly station, said gradient inducing the movement of the rails by. gravity from the front section to the back end of the back section;

c. hoist means mounted on the front section of the carriage for lifting the rail members onto the rail guide and support means;

tie positioning means at the tie assembly station whereby the ties are correctly positioned under the rails at said station, said tie plates being manually positioned between the ties and the rails at the tie plate positioning station;

e. a conveyor means for transporting said ties to the tie plate position and from there, transporting the assembled rails, ties and tie plates to the spike driving position;

f. and a mechanical spike driver at the spike driving position whereby the rails and tie plates are securely fastened into a rail unit;

g. and power means driving said carriage at a constant speed in the direction in which the track is being laid whereby railway track components are introduced at the front end of the carriage, assembled to form a complete railway track during its travel of the carriage, discharged from the back end and then laid on the roadbed ready for tramping into a fixed load carrying position.'

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 in which the carriage is composed of a front section and a rear section means hingedly coupling the front and rear sections together wherein the rail assembly station is mounted on the front section and the elements set out in claim 12, subparagraph a (ii) and a (iii) are mounted on the rear section.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, the tie positioning means includes power driven-means for assisting in the insertion and positioning of the rail ties under the rail members.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1 in which said rail guide and support means includes rollers mounted on each guide and support whereon each rail member rides and is supported during its travel in the elevated position.

5. An apparatus according to claim I wherein the conveyor means comprises an endless chain with uniformly spaced lugs to space and support the rail ties under the rail members and to simultaneously move the rail members and rail ties in the rearward direction.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said positioning means comprises two plate portions fixed in a spaced-apart parallel arrangement and referenced in parallel relation to one of the sides of the apparatus.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said carriage has wheels located at the front and rear thereof said front wheels and rear wheels being separately steerable independent to permit accurate positioning of the rear end of the carriage relative to the railway roadbed as the assembled track is lowered thereon from the rear end of the apparatus. 

